The shoeshine boys of Mexico City are so striking, with their deep red shoeshine setups and their assortment of rags and polishes. Men in suits stop by on their way to work and read their newspaper while their shoes get polished. Almost everyone in the city had super-shiny shoes.

The same shoeshine cart. A break between customers.

Hari getting his shoes polished. 15 pesos. So worth it, because it amused me and the kids so much. We’ve never seen Hari with shiny shoes!

And a fancier version of the cart, with a canopy on top.

To see more sketches from Mexico City, go here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sketchaway/sets/72157628596924819/